El rol de la sociedad civil en la gestión de vivienda y barrios vulnerables en Chile

Abstract

In Chile, an increasing number of Civil Society Organizations (CSO) have positioned themselves as agents for social and political transformation by taking part in the implementation of projects related to the built environment. These organizations are driven by social goals and present themselves as an alternative for groups that have been left unattended by the State and the market. This paper aims to characterize and define their role in the context of housing and the regeneration of vulnerable neighborhoods. To do so, an analytical framework is proposed based on the capacity for the intermediation of these organizations and the type of social innovation they are focused on. Based on the analysis of two groups: foundations and associations, and community-led functional and territorial organizations, the role of these organizations in vulnerable territories are discussed, and four ways of developing social innovation are described. The article concludes highlighting the present contribution of these organizations from within their concurrent role as implementers and catalysts, with a predominant role in the dimension of processes and empowerment.